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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

Before you read: Please note that while I’m talking about religion throughout this article I’m only talking about Catholicism. I have absolutely no place and no business to be talking about any other religion. 

I am not a religious person, and I honestly never have been. Yes, I used to go to church when I was younger, but I would sit and wiggle my teeth out because I was so bored. Seriously, I think I lost a majority of my baby teeth in church. 

After the age of seven I can count on one hand the amount of times I have been to Mass. So no, I am not a religious person, but I also wouldn’t call myself an atheist either. It is simply that I don’t practice religion, but I also do not know what I do and don’t believe in. 

More recently, I have been questioning my previous beliefs. Growing up when our nation is more polarized than ever it’s very easy to subconsciously put people into different boxes and then not let there be any room for those boxes to interchange.

I used to associate religion and being Catholic with views I don’t agree with. I’m a Democrat, pro-choice, and believe that everyone is equal. I thought there was no way to have those political views and be religious. 

I was obviously very wrong.

It was easy for me to make that association because as someone who didn’t attend church during my formative years, everything I learned about the church came from my own learned experiences and as bad as it sounds, social media. 

Since being in college, specifically at a Franciscan Catholic college, I have grown to question my faith and previous views on religion and politics. At the end of the day my political views are not going to change and I’m never going to be incredibly religious. But, my views on how I feel about religion have most definitely changed. I have been able to completely separate religion from politics and also understand that being religious does not look the same for everyone. 

My biggest takeaway and realization is that I can have faith without being religious. By this I mean I can agree with certain religious figures without practicing religion. 

There are two major reasons why my mindset has been able to change. The first reason is the people I have met at college who have opened my eyes to what it is like to be religious but also share some of the same values and morals as me, a non-religious person. This helped me realize my ignorance in thinking that religion looks the same for everyone. 

Secondly, St. Francis has played a major role in my change of beliefs. The more I learn about St. Francis and other religious figures it easy to see that they are mostly just trying to spread the word of kindness, love, and community. 

I feel like I have a clearer mind now that I have allowed myself to step back and reconsider my previous biases about what it means to be religious and have faith. I’m excited to see where this new mindset will take me and what I’ll uncover as I continue to dive deeper into what faith looks like for me.

Rebecca is a senior communication, social justice & advocacy major at SBU. This is her second year writing for Her Campus. This year, Rebecca is looking forward getting to know all the new members. She is excited to write about pop culture, books, trends and just her life overall. Besides Her Campus, Rebecca is the senior leader for the Campus Conservationists club and the social media manager for Jandoli Women in Communications club. She has had the opportunity to have an on-campus internship in the department of university advancement and write for TAP into Greater Olean, an online news source for the St. Bonaventure area. During her free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, going to the gym and being outside. Rebecca also loves music and will always engage in a conversation about Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams or Noah Kahan.